My Sick Obsession!

Ice Cream is one of the oldest treats in our history. There is a lot of speculation as to where ice cream originated from, and with speculation comes different stories about the origin of Ice Cream. Ice cream can be traced back to at least the 4th century. It is said that in early Rome, Emperor Nero used to order slaves to get ice from the mountains and would combine it with fruit and honey to flavor it. Another popular story is that ice cream, or something like it was created by the Persians. The Persians invented a cold pudding dish made with rose water and Vermicelli (a type of thin pasta). They would combine fruits, saffron, and a number of other flavors with the ice. This is very similar to a dessert mad today in Iran called Fallodeh. A less likely story is that the Chinese had been enjoying milk and cream based frozen treats since the Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368). This story is unlikely because European Countries like Italy had been making frozen treats similar to ice cream before the Chinese had even started drinking milk. Also, there is no record of ice creams in ancient Chinese recipes.


It is clear that where ever ice cream started, it later spread throughout Europe and eventually made it way all over the world including the New World. From then on, ice cream was adapted into the culture of its new homes, and took on different names such as Gelato in Italy and Faloodeh in Iran.

Even though the history of ice cream is some what unclear, one thing is for certain; ice cream was a treat only intended for royalty and higher class people, I'm glad those days are over! Ice cream was served to Kings and Queens, Dukes and Duchesses, Presidents and Benefactors. Catherine de'Medici, an Italian Duchess introduced ice cream to France when she married the Duke d'Orléans in 1533. She brought her chefs who had ices and sorbet recipes with her to France. After ice cream was brought to France, Francesco dei Coltelli opened the first ice cream café in Paris in 1651, which sprouted 250 more like it.

Ice cream recipes started appearing in print in France as early as 1674. England and America were close behind with the first ice cream recipe being published in London in 1718. The first mention of ice cream outside of a cookbook was in 1744 in the Pennsylvania Magazine History & Biography. In 1768 L'Art de Bien Faire les Glaces d'Office (loosely translated to The Art if Ice Cream Making)was published, being the first cookbook that was solely about ice creams.

Several U.S. Presidents served ice cream to their guest including George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, even James Madison's wife Dolly Madison served ice cream at her husband Inaugural Ball in 1813.

Now we'll skip forward to some of the greatest ice cream inventions. In 1776, the first ice cream parlor came about in New york City. In 1846, Nancy Johnson invented the first hand cranked ice cream maker. In 1851, a man by the name of Jacob Fussell established the first commercial ice cream factory. The oldest ice cream company, Bassett's Ice Cream Company was established in 1861 and is still up and running today. The first ice cream scoop was invented in 1897, and Clarence Vogt invented the first ice cream freezer in 1926. Probably the most important ice cream invention in my opinion was the ice cream cone. Even though the waffle predated the modern ice cream, the collaboration was definitely one made in heaven. The waffle cone came about during the 1904 St. Louis World Fair. An ice cream vender had run out of bowls and next door to him was a Syrian waffle maker. The waffle maker offered to make waffle cones for the ice cream vender, and the rest as we say, is history.

 

All this talk about ice cream makes me want some. Lucky for us Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield got their know hows in ice cream making for Penn State University. Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield, better known As Ben & Jerry's is one of the most popular ice cream companies in the world.

 

I'll enjoy Ben & Jerry's ice cream for now, but hopefully if I sell enough girl scout cookies I'll be able to afford the worlds most expensive ice cream sundae as per the Guinness Book of Records. Gasp! For $1,000 one could treat themselves to the Golden Opulence Sundae at Serendipity3 in good old NYC.

However, I think I'll wait a while, and enjoy at least one ice cream product a week to make up for it.

It is predetermined and predestined that food and all things savory receive most if not all of the attention. We all want to know where certain foods come from, cuisines of different areas, how to reinvent and innovate the steak and potatoes over and over again. However I don't really care. I love food, but being bombarded continuously with meat and fish and main course meals, I wonder when will the time come when desserts and pastries see the spotlight? Honestly people eat the main course to get ready for dessert anyway. I've allowed the main course and the savory items to have their time, now its time we move on to the most important part of a meal. Because I've picked up and read many books about food and different food origins, I want to find one that speaks to me personally. I want to know; I'm dying to know where pastries, breads, and all things sweet come from. So its now time to give these sweet treats the respect and attention they deserve!



I'm embarking on an Origin-al Adventure where I try to rediscover where all things sweet came from. Its something that people have either forgotten or don't particularly care about. So I am taking it upon myself to figure it out not just for me but for anyone else out there who's interested.






In my upcoming blogs, I will be sharing with you the origins of breads, pastries, cakes, drinks, and anything else there is in my industry.


If there is anything in particular someone wants to know about, leave a comment and I'll add it to the list.


I want to thank those of you who have already given me suggestions, everything helps. If there is something that you want to know, chances are other people want to know the same thing.